1. Here's my take on Melo saying that he wanted out because the Nuggets were going to have to rebuild following 2010-2011: Yes, the Nuggets were a bunch of 30-somethings with expiring contracts, but he made it sound like it was doomsday in Denver. Let's say Melo was dedicated to stay. The Nuggets would have had loads of cap space to go after free agents. And Melo, this superstar, would have had some pull to motivate players to come to Denver. The Nuggets still had Ty Lawson. And really, if Melo is as starry as we're supposed to believe, then shouldn't it be considered simply building around him — instead of "rebuilding"?

But here's the main thing — if winning was so important, then why did he look the Nuggets in the eye and say, "Chicago or New York?" That's what he did in August 2010. If it were solely about winning, there were better options to win than those two teams. But it wasn't solely about winning — it was about a bigger market and thriving on a grand stage.

I'm not saying he should or shouldn't have left. People leave jobs for better opportunities all the time. But he made it sound like the Nuggets roster was the primary reason why he left — on the contrary, it was just one of many reasons.

Carmelo Anthony talks with the media after practice Tuesday at the Pepsi Center. Anthony is listed as probable to play Wednesday night against the Nuggets, his first game as a visitor in Denver. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Kreckman is the drive-time host on 102.3 ESPN, and he suggested that the fans should be completely silent when Melo is introduced. Obviously it would be impossible to coordinate this, but imagine the scene if Denver fans spoke to Melo by literally not making any noise and acknowledgment.

3. A fun thing to watch will be the dueling of Carmelo and Danilo Gallinari, who were traded for one another in February 2011. Their friendly feud began in a classic game on March 23, 2010, when Melo scored 36 points at Madison Square Garden for Denver, but the Knicks' Gallinari, often with Melo guarding him and vice versa, scored 28 points with five 3-pointers in the New York win. Then in the first matchup after the trade, on Jan. 21, 2012, Gallo had 37 and 11 rebounds in Denver's double-overtime win, while Melo had 25 and 10, while hitting a shot that sent the game to overtime.

4. The other day some Nuggets folks and I were debating the top recent dunks in Nuggets history. While J.R. Smith's skywalker over Gary Neal was probably the most impressive, I think the coolest one, considering it was the season opener after Denver went to the conference finals, was Melo over Paul Millsap (others to consider are Kenneth Faried's one-handed dunk from Rudy Fernandez's no-look pass, Lawson over the Lakers' bigs and JaVale McGee off the backboard in Houston).

"It's going to be probably a hostile environment, it's going to be fun though," J.R. said Wednesday morning at the shootaround. "But I've been waiting for this game a long time, will see some familiar faces, people I've grown with through my career."

Nuggets coach George Karl was asked Wednesday about Smith's tenure in Denver.

"J.R. is spectacular, his talent and skill level is at a scary level," Karl said. "He's probably a top-30 player when you talk about what he could be. But the growth process of J.R., the Nuggets and George Karl, there was a lot of pain because of the good and bad that comes with watching him play. There's a timeframe on that, a timeframe for him and for me as coach.

"I just thought it was a healthier, better situation for him to go somewhere else. As the coach, I'm the one who gives the minutes, and for me, to give him a lot of minutes, he had to give me simple, solid, fundamental (play), and I think that was the fight that we had. He wanted more freedom to express his offensive skills, I wanted more basic and simple."

6. Andre Iguodala had an interesting take on the post-Melo Nuggets: "We're trying to fly under the radar. And I think the Detroit Pistons would be a great blueprint to who we're trying to compare ourselves to. No superstars, and they got it done. With us, we're getting better with defense, and our offensive style of play puts us at an advantage against teams that are trying to play catchup. When we're playing at our best, we're hard to beat, especially at home.

"You're not going to get a guy scoring 30 every night, but every night it's going to be someone different who's going to give you problems. We just need to try to continue in that mind frame."

7. Also playing for New York — Kenyon Martin. The former No. 1 overall pick, and former Nugget, signed a 10-day contract with the Knicks, and then another, and comes off the bench for the beleaguered bench. Some believe he couldn't get a job at the beginning of the year due to his large personality.

"Kenyon is misinterpreted in a lot of ways. He has a lot of professional in him, he knows the right way," Karl said. "Sometimes he fights that way, but I thought the league was mean to him. I've been out of the game, too, and the league's been mean to me, too, it's not a good feeling, things are said that aren't true and innuendo is brought forth. I'm glad he's back, and hopefully he can get into shape and be a factor for the team in the playoffs."

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